1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a device for processing continuous webs, comprising a machine frame in which at least one tool for processing continuous webs is arranged and comprising a drive device for actuating the tool.
2. Description of the Related Art
With a rotary offset machine of the assignee according to EP 1 132 204 A, continuous webs can be processed variably with regard to the required size. In this way, printed products can be produced whose section lengths are different. The webs printed by the rotary offset press are processed generally in-line. For example, the webs are hole-punched, perforated, and cut. The further processing is usually also variable with regard to the paper size.
In order to perform a changed of size, for example, from the paper size DIN A4 to DIN A3 (DIN: Deutsche Industrienorm=German Industrial Standard), the tools required for further processing are supported in one or several plug-in units. When carrying out a size change, these plug-in units, known in the art, are exchanged. The plug-in units, for example, are supported on rollers and can thus be easily exchanged. Such plug-in units are known as single-cylinder plug-in units or multi-cylinder plug-in units. A single-cylinder plug-in unit has, for example, a stamping cylinder, a transversely perforating cylinder or a transversely cutting cylinder. This cylinder acts on a counter cylinder which is supported outside of the plug-in unit in the machine frame. A multi-cylinder plug-in unit is provided with several cylinders. They are usually driven by a drive device which generally drives at the same time draw rollers which maintain a predetermined web tension in the machine.
Further processing is carried, as during printing, in metric division or inch division. However, it is not possible to produce precise size lengths according to both divisions with the same device. When the device, as is conventional, is designed for inch-based division, size lengths in the mm range can be produced precisely only in approximation. In order to generate a precise size length in mm, it is customary to cut a strip off the inch-based size. This produces a significant amount of paper waste which must be disposed off. Moreover, an additional blade or knife is required for cutting. Also, cutting is possible only in the case of sheet production.